Clarification about AirCover for Guests - who pays, host, Airbnb or 3rd party insurance?

[Susan1188]

Dear Admins, can we get some clarity about how Air Cover for guests works.

When the guest has a grievance, that the host does not agree with, where will the refund or discount come from?

Who pays (or sacrifices their payout):  The host?  Airbnb?  A 3rd party insurance?

If the guest has a grievance and wants to be "upgraded" on arrival to another Airbnb, will both hosts get their payout?

You mention guest will be moved to an "equal or better property" - who will subsidize the difference in price?  The "better property"?  Or Airbnb?

How will you do this, for example, in August in Marbella last minute, when local hotels and rentals are all overbooked and "equal or better" properties will be nonexistent or cost 5x the price?

When a guest does not respond to host messages, does not respect check in window, arrives outside of check in hours or without following instructions or agreeing to a meeting for the keys:  can he claim check in was not possible and use that to get a last minute cancellation?  Will  host get her payout and guest get his refund?

Subsidiary question:

What will stop guests from trying to get an  "upgrade" from Airbnb for nitpicking and finding fault on arrival in an attempt to get an upgrade? 

What will stop guests who want to cancel last minute, from arriving way outside check in window and claiming check in was not possible?

Numerous guests do not read the listing before arrival and just make assumptions.  How will you deal with a guest who claims a missing amenity because he just assumes you had an amenity you did not list.  I recently hosted a guest who left a bad review for one of my neighbors, because she did not give access to her community parking space and her safe.  She does not list these things because she keeps her own car there and her valuables in her safe. The guest had stayed in another condo in that community  before, in a property with parking and a safe for the guests, and so "just assumed" she would have these things. As a result he left my neighbor a bad review - under Aircover he possibly would have made a claim for "missing amenities". What does Aircover do in that situation.

Thank you!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Susan1188 Airbnb has removed the part of the Ts&Cs that used to say that hosts were responsible for paying to find a guest alternative accommodation. 

Where Aircover for guests finds new accommodation due to the original listing being unable to host then surely it is fair that the original host is not paid for the stay that doesn't happen.

In other situations only time will tell what a) the rules are and b) how customer services will invoke them.

[Susan1188]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

When you tell guests "if you complain , you'll be able to cancel on arrival day or get an upgrade", how can that end well?

I agree that in principle if your guests arrive to a fraudulent listing, if uncontrollable circumstance such as neighbors jack-hammering just outside the bedroom or electricity down in the neighborhood, if the host gives them the wrong key or the contact person doesn't show up and they can't check in ... obviously the guest should get his money back.

The problem is, as I have experienced several times:  a guest who exaggerates an inconvenience or even creates the problem himself, in order to get a free night or a discount.


One of Airbnb's completely essential amenities is: Wifi.  

I have had 2x guest try to claim that the wifi was either "slow" or they "couldn't get on", clearly in the designs to get some kind of discount.  One guest complained it was "slow" without any proof,  I send someone over it was working fine, and they still got an immediate 30% refund on the entire stay from Airbnb.

I am on top of this now with remote verification of the router I can immediately check from 2000 km away if the router is optimized and if they are logged on, and send a screenshot to Airbnb.

What about the guest who doesn't read your rules or instructions, and claims they "can't check in"?

What if they arrive way outside your check in window and claim they can't get in?

[Fred13]

@Susan1188 Like @Mike-And-Jane0 says above, some absurd things have already changed, or promised to, and how things will really work out is yet to be determined.

However, one thing is for sure, the home-sharing model surely will be getting more complicated and thus the Airbnb involvement even more necessary. Meaning things will be decided more through the mentality and capability (or lack of) of their CS Department. Yuk.

I have been a proponent of keeping the model as simple as possible - Airbnb is a booking agent, end of story; for that they only charge 3%, thank you very much.  Airbnb need not even be involved in any 'guarantees' for example, for anything; so making it work falls on me and the less Airbnb is involved the less they  facilitate hustling by guests which is sure to happen if given the chance and then surely the only-3%-host fee will continue to happen.

I see hosts, guests and Airbnb prone to behave about the same having the same human nature; considering all three come from the same human gene pool no wonder.

[Linda1556]

As I’m currently awaiting response (since 5/20) from Airbnb on a total refund issued for a guest after they stayed for their entire reservation and with documentation via the platform, and several calls to the CS, it’s the hosts who are/will pay.